The Protections and Rights of Good Samaritans

By
Law Office of Robert Castro, P.A.
|August 27, 2016

When it comes to injury that results from car accidents or other types
of accidents that may occur in our day-to-day life, there is always a
reflexive response to determine who exactly is at fault for the resulting
injuries. Fault is an interesting concept, especially in personal injury
law, as a situation may have an obvious candidate who is liable, no one
who is at fault where an accident is just an accident, or multiple people
may be at fault and contributory in their actions to the accident. We
have laws that outline certain situations in which someone may be liable
or not liable for actions that contributed to the accident. We also have
laws that protect those who act in what they believe is necessary, required,
or appropriate ways because there is a desire to encourage heroes and
heroines in our everyday society. Though there is no duty to help where
there is not a special relationship or duty between or among people, laws
are put into effect to protect Good Samaritans who aid at the time of
an accident.

Maryland’s Good Samaritan Laws

According to
Maryland’s Good Samaritan law, a person may not be civilly liable for his or her actions while providing
assistance or medical care to another in time of need. To satisfy the
requirements of the Good Samaritan Law, a person who is providing assistance
or medical care must be at the scene of an accident or emergency, may
provide this assistance or medical care before being transported to a
medical facility, or if the Good Samaritan is acting on instructions provided
by trained personnel. The person may only be found to be civilly liable
if he or she acted in a way that was grossly negligent. In other words,
if the person acted in a way that was negligent, he or she would still
be protected; however, gross negligence is different standard and assumes
that the Good Samaritan was beyond just inexperienced or merely negligent,
but he or she may have been reckless or otherwise had little consideration
for the person whom he or she was trying to help.

Additionally, the Maryland law requires that a person may also be shielded
from civil liability where he or she acted in a reasonable manner, he
or she was not compensated for his or her assistance, and once certified
or licensed medical professionals or emergency responders arrived to the
scene and at the assistance of the injured party, the person withdrew care.

Rights of Good Samaritan if Injured or Property Damaged

A Good Samaritan may also have rights in the event that through the provision
of assistance or medical care, he or she wasinjured in the process. This is because generally, there is no special duty to involve oneself
in an accident to act as a Good Samaritan. There is no legal requirement
that where an accident takes place, a person not involved has to assist
or provide medical care to another. However, the law looks to ensure that
where the Good Samaritan decides to provide care or assistance, not only
will his or her actions be protected from civil suit, but also that he
or she will have rights in the event that assistance leads to their injuries.

In the past, Good Samaritans were barred from recovering under an assumption
of risk argument- that he or she assumed the risk of assisting another
person in an obviously dangerous situation. Nowadays, if a Good Samaritan
is injured as a result of the person that he or she decided to assist
or is injured due to the actions of a third party, the courts may permit
the Good Samaritan to file a civil claim against the person responsible
for his or herinjuries.

Charles County, MD Personal Injury Lawyers that Fight for You

If you or a loved one was injured while providing assistance or medical
care to another person, it is important to consult with an experienced
personal injury attorney about your rights to recover damages. Please call the
Law Office of Robert R. Castro at (301) 804-2312 for a confidential consultation.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt
or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.